Take my hand, We're off to never-never land:- When I Dream

Game: When I Dream

Publisher: Repos Productions

Designer: Chris Darsaklis

Year: 2017

When I Dream is a Picture based party game for 4-10 players. In it you take turns being a dreamer, attempting to work out what the other players, as the spirits, are making you dream about. This would be a challenge by itself, but not all the spirits want you to have restful dreams. Some spirits just want to watch you slip into nightmare!

 Each round of When I Dream the dreaming player will put on the blindfold while a 2-minute timer is started. The rest of the group are given a role card, they will either be helpful fairies, nasty bogeymen, or the sandman who is seeking balance. These players will take turns trying to get the blindfolded player to correctly (or incorrectly) guess the topic on the central card. As cards are guessed they are assigned to either a correct or incorrect pile which are used to work out each players score. The dreamer then has a chance to recite their dream, if they manage to name every correct topic that they guessed during the timed phase then they score bonus points. 

When I dream's main board with the three different spirits below it, are you going to help the dreamer have a restful nights sleep? Or try to wake them with a  startling nightmare? The roles are handed out randomly each round

Each of the 3 roles score in different ways, which will dictate how they will want to play. The fairies score 1 point for every correct card that the dreamer guessed. The boogeymen score 1 point for each card they guessed incorrectly. Finally the Sandmen score based on how balanced they two piles are; if the piles are perfectly balanced they score the number in one pile plus a bonus two points, if they are different by only 1 card then they would score the larger of the two piles, and if the difference is greater than that they would score the lower of the two piles. The game continues until everyone has had a chance to be the dreamer and then the player with the highest points wins, and presumably is crowned “The best at sleeping”.

When I dream is a charming game, I first saw it at UKGE 2017 and was immediately drawn to the board with the plastic bed that serves as the deckholder. It’s a really nice way to both hold they cards, and allow the cards to have 2 clues on each face as the headboard covers up the word you aren’t using! The art on the cards themselves is of consistent high quality and the dual nature of the cards can lead to some very odd images that combine both aspects of the card. Although there is always one player who doesn’t get to enjoy the aesthetics of the game at any given time.

The blindfold and a selection of the art cards, take a moment to appreciate the loaf/comb card!

When I Dream makes for a great warm up/cooldown game, particularly for smaller groups. A game for 4 players can take about 20 minutes and is sure to make you laugh. It’s also a very easy teach which is always a mercy with a game that takes large numbers. I did personally have an issue where the blindfold made me feel sick, although no-one else I’ve played with had that problem, so it’s most likely a fault with me rather than the game. I would have loved to have a little more depth in the game, perhaps a few different spirits for more advanced games. As it is When I Dream is a good party game, but I don’t see it having as much replayability as I’d like.


6.5/10

When I Dream was a review copy provided by Esdevium Games Ltd. It is be available for an RRP of £26.99 at your friendly local game store or can be picked up at http://www.365games.co.uk/.